EFFECT OF BROMELAIN ON OSTEOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION OF HUMAN GINGIVA DERIVED STEM CELLS

Resnick Auditorium

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bromelain on cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human gingiva derived mesenchymal stem cells (HGMSCs). Background. HGMSCs are highly proliferative with the ability to differentiate into osteogenic precursor cells. While dexamethasone is a traditional inducer of osteogenic differentiation, many antioxidants play a vital role in enhancing osteogenic differentiation and offer a potential alternative to dexamethasone. Bromelain, an antioxidant derived from pineapple extract, is known to modulate NF kappa B signaling. Previous studies showed that the inhibition n of NF-kappa B significantly enhanced MSC-mediated bone formation. Methods. Cryopreserved HGMSCs were used for the study. The cells obtained from passage 4 were seeded onto a 96- well plate and treated with different concentrations of bromelain (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 15 mg/mL) and cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Osteogenic differentiation was examined by osteogenic marker gene expression at 2 weeks. Results: While cells exposed to bromelain on day 1 showed significant increase in the proliferation at 1 μg/ml concentration, on day 3, there was significant increase in cell proliferation (P<0.05) at all concentrations. The cells induced with bromelain for 2 weeks showed significant upregulation of several genes such as alkaline phosphatase, osteonectin, osteoprotegerin. Results. While cells exposed to bromelain on day 1 showed significant increase in the proliferation at 1 μg/ml concentration, on day 3, there was significant increase in cell proliferation (P<0.05) at all concentrations. The cells induced with bromelain for 2 weeks showed significant upregulation of several genes such as alkaline phosphatase, osteonectin, osteoprotegerin. Conclusion. The findings from the study demonstrated that bromelain treatment induced cell proliferation. Nevertheless, the survival of HGMSCs is concentration dependent. The results of the study suggests that bromelain can induce osteogenic differentiation of HGMSCs. Grants. HPD grant.